


Blood Rain

by timetravelwithcamelotsdetective



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Historical, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-08
Updated: 2014-07-08
Packaged: 2018-02-08 00:32:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1919964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/timetravelwithcamelotsdetective/pseuds/timetravelwithcamelotsdetective
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>At the turn of the tide Merlin feels the shift and knows a storm is coming, the storm of war.</p><p>Part of themerlinartsfest2014<br/>Prompts Used:<br/>*Words = light, rejuvenated<br/></p>
            </blockquote>





	Blood Rain

On a cool August evening in the depths of the Welsh moors a young man sat alone.  His eyes gazed out, watching the emptiness and the nothingness. Above him the stars were like fairy lights that danced for him, and the more he waited the more he could feel the Earth move beneath him.

Night began to draw in and with it came rain. Torrents of rain that seemed to never stop coming. He didn’t mind, he loved the rain. He lay back on the ground as it fell, staring up at the sky and allowing the water to wash over him. The thing about rain, he thought, was that it wasn’t just water, no, it was magic. Rain could change the way the world worked, turning the tides, flooding the rivers, and bringing life where there was only desolation. He knew there was a balance that needed to be found with rain, for it could as easily bring life as it could death. That was one thing he knew all too well.

Merlin’s hands spread out, brushing his fingers through the leaves and simply _feeling_. The rain was bringing life back to the soil after the scorching heat of the summer months, revitalising and rejuvenating it again. Of course, nature never knew when to stop and would drown the Earth before too long, but for now Merlin was content to breathe again with the world around him.

“Merlin!” a call came from behind him, “Merlin what are you doing?” It was said with a half laugh that Merlin absorbed as if he’d never hear it again. “It’s freezing out here, please come inside.” Arthur was pleading with him, putting on his best puppy eyes and pout in the hope of pulling Merlin in out of the rain before he fell ill.

It was Arthur who really brought the life back to Merlin. He’d appeared in Merlin’s life like light from a lighthouse to a lost sailor. He’d guided him back to shore, and made sure his feet were firmly on the ground. But at the same time he lifted him far beyond the universe, releasing Merlin’s soul so he could become anything as long as he was attached to Arthur.

He felt Arthur lower himself to sit beside Merlin, twining their fingers together then gazing too up into the sky.

“My father wants me to enlist.” Arthur said quietly a few moments later, his voice distant. “Said I needed to bring honour to our family, the way he did when he fought in the Boer War.” He glanced over at Merlin, “I’m going, Merlin, I have to. It’s the war to end all wars, will be done and home by Christmas, and Camelot has put together a regiment for us, Excalibur.” He paused again, hoping desperately for Merlin to reply but he never did. “Excalibur won’t work without you, Merlin.”

The silence that followed was deafening. Merlin’s heart had fluttered slightly knowing how much Arthur needed him, but then the thought of what was to come hit him, a bolt of lightning right through his heart.  

He nodded slowly before saying,

“I’ll come, together or not at all.”

And the rain continued to fall. Only from then on, it was blood that soaked them to the core as they fought in the trenches in a war that would claim more men than anyone ever thought imaginable.


End file.
